I love to collect books, especially dirty BDSM books.  And the last couple of centuries produced so much naughty esoterica that I decided to design a series of presentations about illustrated BDSM smut lit.

These presentations run roughly an hour and use dozens of illustrations to entertain and inform. They’re most suitable for BDSM meetings and munches, but could work at a larger function if you have a history or potpourri track.  For most presentations, I include take-away CDs that contain resources and free, public domain reads tailored to each presentation.

Most of the presentations are designed for all-audience entertainment, but some are, by necessity, heavy on bibliographic data.  Hence, I’ve divvied things accordingly.

Interested?  Contact me at debrawriting at cox dot net.

For All Audiences:

Uncommon Illustrations: Six Clandestine Flagellation Books, 1920-1940

Once, much of our S/M book history stood to vanish because strict obscenity statutes allowed their seizure and destruction. Today, obscurity threatens it. Yet just as S/M novels entertained the aficionados of yesteryear, they can inform us today about key events in our history. Using illustrations from books of the era and what little bibliographic data exists today, Debra Hyde explores a daring part of our history set in a crushing era of book suppression.  CD includes presentation summary and public-domain reads.

FemDommes Through the Ages, An Illustrated Journey

FemDommes make our hearts pound and we’ve lusted after them in our literature and our libidos!  Enjoy this heavy-on-the-dirty-pictures presentation as it focuses on S/M’s portrayal of the femdomme from the early 19th through mid-20th century.  From birch-wielding madams of old to torpedo-titted Amazon in modern fetish-wear, Debra invites you to reveal in illustrations galore of these marvelous ma’ams and mistresses!  CD includes ephemera from the 1950s and 1960s in PDF form. Available August 2010; please inquire.

S/M Ephemera: A Potpourri of Perversion

Craig Yoe brought us Joe Schuster’s fetish art in his fantastic book, Secret Identity, but the rare Nights of Horror wasn’t the only game in town during the 1950s.  Quick to seize on a hot idea, pariah publishers rushed to produce their own versions of illustrated story booklets with titles like Thrills and Horror, The Lingering Rap, and Painful Pastimes.  Many more of these titles survived survived the hysteria of their day and Debra takes you on a tour of their many illustrations, complete with voice-overed text clips.  CD includes presentation summary and select excerpts. Available August 2010; please inquire.

French Flagellation1:  The French Heyday of Illustrated Spanking Art

At the advent of the 20th century and until World War II, the French went hog-wild over flagellation novels. Generously illustrated, they depicted everything from turn-of-the-century birching scenes to the emerging FemDomme identity to some of the earliest depictions of fetish imagery that we easily recognize today.  Debra presents over 70 illustrations and accents them with just enough historical background to provide an entertaining introduction to this increasingly esoteric subject. CD includes presentation summary and resources for (affordable) collecting. Available summer 2010; please inquire.

French Flagellation2: Collection des Orties Blanches

At the advent of the 20th century and until World War II, the French went hog-wild over flagellation novels. This presentation focuses on key examples from publisher Jean Fort, who distinguished his books with a preference towards women whipping women, enemas, and, particularly, everyone having a blazing good time, and his Collection des Orties Blanche.  With dozens of illustrations to entertain and inform, this presentation works well either as a stand-alone or as a follow-up to French Flagellation 1. CD includes presentation summary, translated excerpts and resources for (affordable) collecting.  Available summer 2010; please inquire.

Gargoyle Press: S/M in the Golden Age of Erotica

To many bibliophiles, the 1930s constituted the American Golden Age of Erotica, a lively time of publishing despite the ever-present threat of legal prosecution. And during that time, Gargoyle Press quietly and almost anonymously gave America some of the best flagellation works of modern times. Often beautifully illustrated, their books reflected hard whippings and soulful submission. Come get acquainted with what might be the first modern BDSM sensibilities in the American novel.  CD includes presentation summary and select excerpts. Available late 2010; please inquire.

For the Bibliophile Perv

Strong-Armed into Obscenity? The Tale of Tender Bottoms: One Book Enthusiast’s Interpretation

America entered the 20th century under suppressive and harsh laws that prohibited the publication of erotic works. Yet flagellation books flew under the radar, escaping prosecution until the mid-1930s. One work, Tender Bottoms, changed all that. But was Tender Bottoms really lascivious? Or did New York City authorities declare flagellation titles obscene to strong-arm its publisher in its prosecution of bigger fish? Debra Hyde explores that tantalizing possibility in this hour-ish presentation.  As yet, no CD with this presentation.

Famous Flagellations: A Book Collector’s Survey

When you think of S/M books in a bookcase, you probably think de Sade, von Masoch, and Reage.  Important authors all, but beyond them? What then? After years of bibliographic research and collecting, Debra Hyde shares what she considers the key and scare volumes for the S/M library.  An hour-long presentation that’s as heavy on bibliographic information as it is on naughty illustration.  CD include public-domain reads from the Victorian era.